A draft federal environmental impact statement of the Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac supports the pipeline's continued operation.
The analysis is part of Enbridge's federal permit application necessary to move the dual lines into a 3.6-mile tunnel under the lakebed.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the environmental effects of constructing a tunnel, leaving the existing lines as they are or covering the dual lines with gravel and rock.
The report, which spans more than 1,000 pages, says the tunnel option would reduce the risk of an oil spill in the Straits, compared to the other alternatives. The EIS also considers different methods of de-commissioning the existing lines, if the tunnel were to be permitted.
It does acknowledge the tunnel would result in damage to wetlands and vegetation, and construction would result in "temporary" effects on factors like noise, traffic, wildlife, recreation and geology.
Seven tribal nations withdrew as cooperating agencies from the federal review, citing that their feedback was disregarded. The USACE said it's conducting an analysis to see whether the tunnel would violate tribal treaty rights.
Sean McBrearty is with Oil and Water Don't Mix, a group that supports shutting down Line 5. At a recent rally against the tunnel, he called on the state of Michigan — instead of federal officials — to reject the project.
"We're not going to ask people who have been fighting this pipeline for a decade to waste their time providing comments into a sham federal process, where the public's interests and comments will not be heard anyway," he told WCMU.
The USACE said in its release that all submitted comments are considered for the final EIS.
In a statement, an Enbridge spokesperson called the draft EIS a "milestone" that's the result of more than five years of "rigorous and comprehensive permit review."
"Our goal is to have the smallest possible environmental footprint," the company said in the written statement. "The tunnel design already reflects that intent, and we will use the USACE’s findings from the (draft) EIS to further refine the project."
Public comment will close June 30, and the USACE plans to announce whether the project will receive a federal permit this fall. The tunnel project is also still awaiting environmental permits from the state of Michigan.
Editor's note: Enbridge is a sponsor of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
